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Nigeria court defers ruling on presidential vote

Other News Materials 23 October 2008 23:04 (UTC +04:00)

Nigeria's Supreme Court on Thursday deferred ruling on challenges to President Umaru Yar'Adua's April 2007 election victory but did not set a date for handing down its final judgment, reports Reuters.

Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari and ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar, Yar'Adua's main challengers in last year's polls, have appealed to the Supreme Court to annul his victory in an election deemed flawed by foreign and local observers.

The legal wrangling over the vote has undermined Yar'Adua's first 17 months in office, preventing him from exercising his full authority, contributing to a stagnation in government decision making and unnerving foreign investors.

After hearing final submissions from counsels for Buhari and Abubakar, Chief Justice Idris Kutigi said judgment was "reserved" in both cases, meaning the court will make its ruling on a date to be announced later.

Lawyers for both Buhari and Abubakar argued that ballot papers were not properly numbered and that procedural errors meant the results were not credible.

Abubakar's lawyer also argued that approval for his client to take part in the election had come so late that he had not been able to campaign effectively.

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